Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a biodegradable cigarette filter and more specifically, to a non-synthetic, natural cigarette filter tow.
Related Art
Popular smoking articles have undergone significant development in the past 50 years with a recent increased awareness of limiting consumption of chemicals which can impede the emotional enjoyment of smoking cigarettes or other products. In addressing the desire for an enhanced smoking experience, much research and development has centered around the cigarette filter which currently primarily serves the purpose of filtering the smoke generated from burning tobacco. Typically, a filter has a filter tow made from plasticized cellulose acetate and can also include polyhydric alcohols, and the tow is wrapped with an inner and outer layer of cigarette paper. The inner layer is known as the plug wrap and the outer wrapping layer is known as the tipping paper. A cigarette is smoked by a consumer lighting one end and burning the tobacco rod end of the cigarette, opposite from the filter. The smoker then receives mainstream smoke into his mouth by drawing the tobacco smoke through the filter on the opposite end of the cigarette.
Certain cigarettes incorporate filter elements or tows having absorbent materials dispersed therein, such as activated carbon or charcoal materials in particulate or granular form. For example, a cigarette filter can possess multiple segments, and at least one of those segments can comprise particles of high carbon-content materials.
In other areas of the art, cellulose acetate is known and widely used in cigarette filter material. In most forms the biodegradability of cellulose acetate remains relatively low. Further, the biodegradation character of cellulose acetate is most often dependent on the degree of substitution, or the number of acetyl groups per glucose unit of the cellulose acetate molecular structure. For example, if the degree of substitution of cellulose acetate is decreased, the biodegradation rate of cellulose acetate is increased.
A typical cigarette includes a filter at one end which has a core or body which filters the smoke generated from burning tobacco and a paper wrapper having one or more wrapper layers surrounding the filter body. The filter core or body is commonly made from a fibrous filter material and a binder. After a user smokes the cigarette, the filter or cigarette butt is typically discarded. Such filters are often discarded in outdoor areas such as beaches, parks, and the like. The materials making up the filter core and binder biodegrade only very slowly over lengthy periods of time and thus cause unsightly environmental litter and pollution.
Attempts have been made to address the problem of non-biodegradable materials in filter cigarettes. In some studies, investigators have sought to introduce micro-organisms which act to accelerate the degradation process. In such methods however, the biodegradation rate of the entire filter is determined by the biodegradation rate of the material that can be easily biodegraded and, thus, the biodegradation rate of the cellulose acetate itself is not increased.
Other proposals for biodegradable and partially biodegradable filters involve relatively complicated manufacturing processes which often require chemical intermediates for production. Moreover, such methods also do not address the issue of introduction of complex chemical compounds into the environment which leads to pollution.
As such, there exists a need for a filter and methods for producing a more environmentally friendly cigarette filter to assist in decreasing pollution and litter from cigarette filters which currently employ use of chemicals and materials that are synthetic, non-biodegradable and harmful to smokers and the environment.